


A Sorry Excuse for a Fairy Tale

by Fandom_Dragon_Slayer



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Before and after time jump, Don't read, Eventual Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji, F/M, I never finish my works, M/M, Multi, POV Alternating, Spoilers, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-25 19:44:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16204388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandom_Dragon_Slayer/pseuds/Fandom_Dragon_Slayer
Summary: You'd think that after all this time with people having soul mates, maybe once in a while people might tell you what to do once you find them, but they don't. Not everyone has soul mates, or so they say. If it's such a rare thing I don't understand how Luffy ended finding only people with soul marks to join his crew. But you'd think there would be a book, does my mark  match my soul mates, does it represent them, does it help me find them in any way at all? Or does it just allow me to know that I have one, a soul mate out there?I have no idea, but I do know that that smirk and those eyes are causing problems with my heart, and if he keeps looking at me I'll reveal a secret I don't want to reveal, and I can't let that happen, no matter what._________________________________________I had an idea and it WILL NOT LEAVE ME ALONE. I honestly wouldn't bother starting this one, its a long one and history shows I don't finish my works at all. I just had to start it or else it was going to eat me alive.





	1. A Series of Shocking Discoveries, The Starting of Friendships

**Author's Note:**

> Please read this one at least, I don't really care if you read any other author notes I make but this one's low key important. 
> 
> Again this story will start before the time jump, but will continue after it. And there is a pretty big spoiler that happens during the time jump that if you have somehow made it this far into the One Piece fandom that you haven't seen the spoiler already or seen the actual episode yet, I congratulate you, that's like impossible. But I will be addressing it and therefore spoiling it so if you'd like to keep your miraculous spoiler free existence, then don't read this please.
> 
> Then again that imply that I'll actual write this story far enough to reach the spoiler and/or finish this story, which I probably won't so.... oops.

_Luffy's POV_

 

I see them, this crew I've made, and I can't help but smile because I know they will be happy and I know they have dreams that they will fulfill. I can see it. It's written on them, it's in their eyes, their smiles, the way they hold themselves. But most importantly, I see it in their marks. those marks that mean so little to some of them and so much to others, I see that if fates chosen them to bare these marks on them, then fate better be ready for the marks they make on this world. 

 

I see my crew: a swordsman, a navigator, a sniper, and a cook. I know they will be the crew under the King of the Pirates someday, but for now.....

 

"SANJI! More meat, captains orders!"

 

_____________________________________________________

 

_Nami's POV_

It was dark out, I didn't think I'd see anyone else awake, not out on the deck at least. I knew Zoro would be out here on watch, but he's sleeping just as expected. His reflexes are too great, he'd be able to sense danger coming for us miles away, conscious or not.

What I don't expect to see is Sanji, he's smoking, sitting on the deck his back propped against the rails, looking at the stars.

There's ice resting on his foot.

 "Sanji, why didn't you tell us you'd hurt your foot?"

He looks up at me and gives me a half smile, not the heart eyes or proclamations of love I half expected to hear. He looks tired, in pain.

"Its fine Nami, just a little injury."

"Mind if I take a look at it?"

He pulls his foot away from my reaching hands and shakes his head, "It's fine, promise"

"The Sanji I know would never pass up an opportunity for a lady to touch him, especially his ' _Nami-swan'_. So, you gonna tell me what’s wrong, or are you gonna let me see for myself?" I raise an eyebrow at him. He slumps his shoulders more, takes a drag of his cigarette and pushes the foot with the ice towards me. 

He goes back to looking at the stars.

I lift the ice from his foot and remove his sock and gasp. The foot and ankle are swollen, even in the dim light of the half-moon I can see it’s an awful shade of red and purple. It has to be broken and excruciating to walk on, little less kick.

"When did this happen?" I ask, carefully moving his ankle to check the mobility.

He hisses through clenched teeth, "When we were still in the market, it was stupid. Someone threw a rock or something at this foot while I was pivoting to kick with the other. Hurts something awful." he chuckles. 

"Sanji, that was the beginning of the battle. We fought and ran for miles after that. Sanji you carried Usopp back to the Merry after that!"

"Shh, don't wake the Marimo, I don't need him hearing I got myself injured in that little fight, I've survived worse Nami I promise."

"Surviving worse isn't the problem Sanji, I know what you are capable of, I want to know why you didn't tell any of us, why did you insist on fighting, on carrying Usopp, on hiding this?"

He looked at me, and until he did I hadn't realized he'd been avoiding eye contact. He'd been trying so hard to keep his eyes on the sky. But he looked at me as I asked him this and his eyes held confusion.

Then amusement.

"I was taught something once, a long time ago, that you never let strangers blatantly see your weaknesses. You never know when they'll become an enemy, or worse: a friend."

"It's a good thing we aren't strangers than isn't it, because you've already made the mistake of making us your friends."

He laughed, and we heard Zoro grunt from the bird’s nest, I went to get some bandages to wrap his foot, I was almost surprised to see him still there when I got back. I wrapped his foot and put the ice back on. We didn't say anything else to each other the whole time, it was nice interacting with him when he wasn't trying to flirt with me constantly. I sat down next to him and we both just looked at the sky, and I thought about what he said, about what it meant about everything I thought I knew about our cook. 

_Never let strangers see your weaknesses_

"Nami" I was startled by the noise, we'd both been staring at the sky for so long I had started to drift to sleep, but Sanji had broken the silence, he was looking at me this time and he was holding the center of his chest, "I turn 19 tomorrow"

My eyes widen it's his birthday tomorrow? His 19th birthday. Does he know what that means, does he even have a soul mark? Was he just telling me this to share, or was he testing to see if I know. Someone so in love with romance surely wouldn't think I'm silly for believing in the myths, but what if he doesn’t have a mark? Oh, dear god.

"Do you think I'll be able to find them if I'm out here sailing I mean we are about to enter the Grand Line, not the best place to be when you and your soul mate are trying to find each other right?"

"So, you believe huh, how'd you even know I was a believer?"

"I didn't, but I've seen your mark" he says pointing to the back of his neck "Well I've seen part of it sometimes, when your hair is up."

"Yeah, I've got them in different places, they are all easy enough to cover with clothes, but I forget about that one sometimes. The fish people don't get soul marks, so Arlong never like seeing any of mine, became a habit I guess to hide them. Where’s yours?" 

I know before he tells me, but he points at his chest right where he was holding earlier. "It covers my chest, just a giant mark, the old-geezer used to say it looked like a flame, but I'm not sure."

"Well, for what it's worth Sanji, I think you'll be able to find them. Anyone worthy enough to be soul mates with you needs to have a dream strong enough to match yours, and that means they are probably out on the Grand Line to."

"You're so much smarter than you look you know that Nami?" he's smiling at me, as if I'd told him a joke only we'd understand.

"What do you mean?"

"You're even smarter than you know yourself sometimes, learning secrets before you even understand them." He chuckles under his breath and stands up, he holds a hand out for me to take and I do, but he doesn't pull me up, just lends a hand for support. "Would you mind walking me to my room, we don't have any crutches on this boat and if you already know I'm injured no use trying to walk as if I'm not."

"Of course,"

I drop him off at the boys’ cabin and he says goodnight, still with that look of amusement in his eyes. I wonder what I know without knowing. I walk back to my cabin and fall asleep.

When I wake up the next morning I smell bacon in the air and Luffy yelling for meat. I wonder if Sanji is letting the others know, I wonder if he'll tell the others it's his birthday today.

I walk out onto deck where Luffy is banging on the galley door, demanding Sanji let him in so that he can eat. Usopp is sitting on the deck working on some of his inventions, new projectiles to sling shot at enemies I'm sure. Zoro is sleeping against the rail, he'd switched positions from his outlook duty to his daytime spot. When Sanji opens the Galley door his foot is wrapped and he's using a stick as a cane. Zoro's eyes open almost immediately and he sits up straighter. 

"When did you hurt yourself shit-cook?" He grunts squinting at the bandaged foot. 

"What's it to you Moss head?" Zoro's eye twitches at the comment.

"When did you get hurt, you were fine yesterday weren't you?"

"No but I didn't realize how bad it was until last night"

"Who wrapped your foot for you?" Zoro pressed, he seemed more worried for Sanji then amused he'd gotten hurt, unlike Sanji's expectation from the night before. 

"I wrapped it myself, it'll be fine. Do you guys want some food or not?" Sanji dismissed Zoro but I can tell he's confused by Zoro's reaction to the situation. 

 

Luffy isn't in the Galley yet, he is still frozen at the door. Any other day he would have taken the distraction Zoro provided over Sanji to attack the breakfast table, but he seemed focused on Sanji. It didn't look like he was listening to the conversation though, he was looking at Sanji, looking at his chest like he could see something there that the rest of us couldn't. He had a glaze over his eyes and his nose had scrunched up in a way, like he was witnessing something he didn't understand or like, but he was just looking at Sanji. 

In a tone of voice, he hasn't used since we fought Arlong he calls, "Sanji" Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp all stop what they were doing and look at our captain. Luffy glances up to meet Sanji's eyes before going back and focusing on his chest. "You turn 19 today don't you?"

I glance at Sanji, I see a flash of fear dash across his face before he schools his features. "What are you talking about Luffy?" 

Luffy doesn't say anything though he's looking at Sanji, through Sanji and I know he's seeing something, that he knows something the rest of us can't even imagine or attempt to comprehend. Then the glaze is gone and he brings his gaze back to Sanji's eyes, "Sorry, didn't mean it." he mutters under his breath as he slips into the Galley. Sanji gapes at him as he disappears behind the door and he glances back at me before he too goes into the Galley. 

Usopp clears his thought and, still looking at the Galley doors, says "His 19th birthday? Do you think maybe he's got a-"

Zoro cuts him off, "Shut it Usopp, it doesn't matter, we don't speak of this again unless the Cook brings it up got it" and then he goes behind the door to claim some breakfast for himself. 

Usopp looks at me dumbfounded, expecting me to have something to say about the matter, but I just nod my head to the door, and we walk in together and are greeted with the familiar site of Luffy attempting to eat all the food while Sanji protects plates and foods for the rest of us. 

 

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

_Sanji's POV_

 

"You turn 19 today don't you?"

God those words ring through my ears all day. How did he know. I don't believe for a minute that Nami told him, besides it looked like he had just realized it. Like it was a fact he'd known already and just remembered, or something that he could just see on me. But that's impossible you can't just look at a person and tell it's their birthday unless they are wearing a hat or something that literally says it. 

Maybe he was listening to us last night, overheard our conversation? No Luffy wouldn't have, and if he had he wouldn’t have dropped the subject so quickly.  I don't know why but I can tell something more is going on, Luffy knows something that he’s not telling me, not telling us.

Then again I can’t blame him, it’s not like I haven’t been hiding things from everyone, Hell the reason I’m so concerned about this is because he revealed something that I was hiding from everyone except for Nami now.

“Hey Cook” I jump slightly at the voice bringing me out of my thoughts. My cigarette has burnt to the filter and I spit it out and pull out a new one to light.

“What do you want Moss Head?” I ask, he is leaning on the railing and looking out at the sea like I just was.

“What Luffy said earlier, is it true? Do you really turn 19 today?”

My eyes widen slightly “Of course it’s not you heard what I told him today’s not- “

“don’t lie to me Sanji, not about this.”

I debate for a moment, I don’t know why. Why don’t I want them to know, why am I so against them knowing? I’ve seen Zoro’s soul mark, it looks ashen though. It’s dull, faded, and looks like the design has started to bleed, it’s not as sharp as other Design Soul Marks I’ve seen.

“Yeah I turn 19 today, but I don’t like celebrating my birthday, I didn’t want the crew to know, what’s it to ya?”

“Are you ashamed of your mark, or do you not believe in them in general?” He looks at me as he says it. He looks confused, I don’t know why though, I’m the confused one in this situation.

“How did you know I even have a Soul Mark?”

“Cause no one without one would react the way you did to someone outing your Magna Revelare” I blink at him, my god damn what now? “Your big reveal, the day when your Soul Mark awakens to actively help you find your Soul Mate instead of passively hinting towards who it is?”

“Who the hell calls it Magma Revolving or whatever the Hell you just said?”

“Magna Revelare shitty Ero-Cook. It’s the old traditional word for your 19th birthday. Aren’t you supposed to be the big romantic on this crew, how didn’t you know that?”

“Yeah well you’re the shitty drunk swordsman how do you know that?”

“My sensei taught me all about Soul Marks, or at least the traditions that used to be associated with them. In a lot of cultures peoples 19th birthday or Magna Revelare were meant with a big party where suitors from the village and surrounding villages would come and see if their marks would react with the newly awaken one. He tried to teach me as much about my mark as he could, he was trying to make me understand the effects that I would face since my soul-mate was dead.”

I freeze and look at him again, but he is staring at the sea, “How do you know they’re dead?” You can’t know these things, it’s impossible to even find them before you’re 19, how could he know his was dead already.

“We found each other young, but she died when we were children. I know it was her because our marks matched, I mean they weren’t in the same spot or color, but you could tell. They were the same design, so much more vibrant than any other soul marks we had seen. It’s hard to explain but we knew, so did my Sensei he was her father. But I guess in the end the real proof we had was when she died.”

Zoro lifted the t-shirt he was wearing to show me his soul mark. The cut from his fight with Mihawk still looked tender, not completely healed and scarred. I cut through part of his Soul Mark. The mark itself did not match the description he’d just told me, it was not a particularly unique design, or any design at all, and it was definitely not a vibrant color.

“When she died I got a searing pain in my stomach, when I lifted my shirt my mark was bleeding, well not bleeding, the deep blue color of it that once matched the color of her hair was oozing from it. The design lost its shape once a sharp looking collection of shapes blended together. I ran to her house and there was a crowd. She was sharpening her sword when she fell down the stairs, it stabbed her through the gut, stabbed her right where my mark was on me. Where I was bleeding my marks color and shape away she had been bleeding her life away.”

“What did it used to look like?” I don’t know why I ask, but I look at the blotch of discolored skin in his abdomen and I have to know. I have to at least hear what such a tragic story took from not just his heart but his body as well. I hold my chest where my mark is and wonder if my mark would do that if my Soul Mark died, if my soulmates mark would do that should I die.

“Like I said it was the most beautiful shade of blue, matched that punk’s hair when it was shining in the sun. It was a bunch of diamond shapes creating a swirl from just above my belly button. The diamonds where paper thin, but they were layered. When you saw her mark in the most striking shade of green crossing from her shoulder to her hip, just a bunch of diamonds creating a line to cut her diagonally, there was no doubt that our marks were matching.” As he described her mark he traced his own scar that crossed from his shoulder to his hip.

“Did you love her?”

“Not until after she died.” He laughs but I take a step back. What a cruel fate they had “I hated her, no envied her. She was a better swordsman than me, barely older and held the same dream. I have no doubt in my mind that if she was alive today she could have beaten Mihawk back at the Baratie. No doubt that her skill would be ten times what I possess today. She would have been the greatest swordsman this world had ever seen, and she was my soul mate. When I was younger it angered me that the person I was supposed to love the rest of my life was also the person would keep me from achieving my dream. When she died I realized that I had to achieve the dream not just for me, but for her as well. My best friend, the girl who was already everything that I ever hope to become.”

“I’m sorry you’ve already lost the love of your life” I can’t imagine it, knowing at such a young age that fates killed you’re one true love.

“I wouldn’t go that far Cook. Kuina may have been my best friend, whether I admitted it or not, and she may have been my Soulmate, but in no way was she the love of my life. First off I don’t even like girls, she didn’t even like boys, we were meant to spend our lives together yes, but I don’t believe for a moment that we were meant to fall in love with each other.”

“What, that doesn’t make any sense Marimo, that’s the whole point of a Soulmate is to find your one true love in life.”

“No, the point of Soulmates is that you find the person that fate has decided matches you soul perfectly, nowhere does it say you are meant to become romantically attached to them. They could be your arch nemesis, you best friend, your first mate, your sibling, nowhere does it say that they are supposed to become your lover.”

I look at him and hold my chest at this revelation. I don’t have to fall in love with my soulmate, and they don’t have to fall in love with me. “Mines a flame”

“What?”

I don’t know why I say it, why I felt comfortable telling him, but I know it’s what I need to do here. “Mines a flame, at least that’s what that Old-Geezer Zeff always said it looked like. It’s not necessarily red as it is just a discolored part of my skin.” I unbutton the shirt I’m wearing and show him.

“shit Sanji that mark covers your whole chest, some of it almost comes past your color, but I don’t know what you’re talking about, that is the most vibrant shade of red I’ve ever seen, how could you not tell it’s a flame encompassing your entire upper body?”

“What” I ask as I look down and sure enough my marks changed colors. What used to be a slight discoloring, maybe a funny looking sunburn is now a detailed and vibrant flame. The red of the flame is almost a perfect circle in the middle of my chest, but yellow orange and blue lick up from it and some come along my neck. “Holly shit it changed colors. I didn’t know they did that, no one ever told me they did that, why did it do that?”

“It’s an active mark now. It changed its form to help you find that special person out there, your body doesn’t like being apart from its soulmate, so it’s taking measures into its own hands in order to find them. Goodnight Sanji, and good luck.” Zoro chuckles as he walks off to the crow’s nest, off to start the night watch again.

I run to the bathroom and look at the marks new design in the mirror. It’s beautiful if not daunting. How could a giant flame in the middle of my chest help me ‘actively’ find my soulmate? Why was it so big? I hear a knock on the door and I hurriedly button up my shirt to open it.

Luffy is standing there and he’s looking at me like he was this morning, I hadn’t seen him today except during meals, I’m not quite sure what he was doing the whole time, but I think it was partly to avoid being around me. But he keeps looking at my chest, through my chest as if he sees so much more there than just my shirt.

“I need to apologize for earlier, I didn’t mean to out you as a Soul mark Bearer when you didn’t want others to know, and I didn’t mean to tell everyone your birthday without your permission. But I need to know that you are okay, I’ve heard tales of people coming of age on the sea and their crews wake up the next morning to discover they have jumped off the boat into it, you don’t have any pull to become one with the ocean do you?”

“No, no pull towards the ocean at all captain.”

He looks at my face and the glaze is gone and the familiar glint in his eye is back, he smiles “Great, that’s all I need to hear” and he’s off as if this was a normal conversation. I follow him with my gaze and just stare for a while before Nami comes up to me and pushes me back into the bathroom before shutting and locking the door.

“Nami-Swan this is awfully scandalous of you isn’t, have you finally accepted my love?” I say, hearts in my eyes at the precarious position she has just forced us both into.

“Cut the crap Sanji I know exactly what you told me last night” She says, she looks angry.

“Well yes, I’d hope so I told it to you for a reason. What’s your point?” I ask, more confused with the situation than I was before.

“You don’t let strangers see your weakness eh? Except you do, everyday all day you flaunt and flaunt your love and devotion for girls which is arguably your biggest weakness. That was bugging me, if you are so determined to keep even a simply weakness from your crew why flaunt a bigger one to the world, unless of course you’re not. You are doing the exact opposite aren’t you. You are hiding not just a weakness but an insecurity.”

There are far too many people calling me and my secrets out today, I’d really appreciate if she didn’t find this one out as well. “What are you talking about Nami, I just love women so much, they are so beautiful and soft I can’t help myself around them, love is no weakness.”

“Cut the crap Sanji, I know your- “

I cut her off with a hand to the mouth “Don’t say it please. Let’s leave me with one secret today shall we?”

“You’re not ashamed of it are you, you know we won’t judge you, Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp wont judge you.”

“Another time Nami, another day.”

“Alright, but you can talk to me you know, you can trust me.”

“I know, but let’s go to bed, we don’t want to risk being in here any longer. Heaven forbid Usopp needs to use the bathroom and sees us coming out together, we’d never hear the end of it”

Nami’s eyes widen “I am not letting him have black mail over me, night Sanji, but we will continue this discussion later”

“Look forward to it princess.” I shout back as she runs to her cabin, I walk back to the deck and have another smoke before I go to bed, I think tomorrow I’ll make her favorite foods, maybe she’ll understand they are my silent plea that later doesn’t happen too soon for that conversation.

 


	2. Just some pictures

This is just my arts of what I imagined the soul marks looking like.

This first one is Zoro's before and after Kuina's death.

This second one is Kuina's

And this is Sanji's before and after his mark changed because of his Magna Revale. The second flame from the right is the one that reaches up to Sanji's neck.

 

 

These are basic and not really what I wanted them to look like, but they give the idea of what I was trying to describe.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Writing Fairy Tale instead of Fairy Tail was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done. Just saying. I'm trying to make the chapter titles sound like actual episode names, we'll see how that goes.


End file.
